In many sports and even in some industry, it is important to protect parts of the body. Helmets, shin guards, teeth guards and even guards for the male groin area are available for impact protection in a variety of sports. However, there is little protection available for the chest area. Protecting the chest area from impact is becoming more important. Blows to the chest area can cause damage to the rib cage, heart and lungs. Females have further vulnerability due to having breasts. There are an increasing number of girls and women participating in sports and there is a lack of protective equipment designed for such females to wear.
In all sports, such as basketball, baseball, softball, and football there are a number of events that cause blows to the chest area of a player. Such blows can be from other players, equipment or the balls used during play of the sport. In soccer, blows from a hard soccer ball are often suffered to the breast and chest area. The ball may be kicked or even thrown by another player. Particularly, if kicked, the impact from the ball to a breast area can be substantial. In men's soccer, men are at an advantage because an effective maneuver is to hit a high ball with the chest area. Without a protective shield such a maneuver would be painful and may cause damage to a female.
The breast area of female includes very sensitive breast tissue. It is not desirable nor is healthy to have such sensitive tissue hit or damaged. In fact, there has been some research that has shown that damage to the breast area may result in a future cancer site. Therefore, it has become even more imperative to protect the breast area of women of all ages, including young girls.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,537 for a Breast Shield Protector discloses a breast shield having an outer layer and an inner layer. The outer layer is made of an impact resistant material. The inner layer is attached to an inside of the outer layer and the inner layer is made of a soft material. There are straps attached to breast shield for attaching the breast shield to a body. The straps must be strapped around a body and secured to the breast shield. If an adolescent female is wearing the breast shield she may wear a sports bra under the breast shield. Thus, the breast shield may not be held in place as well as if secured directly to the body. The breast shield may slip or slide around the chest area due to sports bra slipping or sliding. As the breast shield slips it becomes less effective.
Thus, there is a need to provide a sports bra or support top that is attachable to an improved breast protector that works as an integral system to stay firmly put on the body providing optimum protection for the chest area.